In high compression internal combustion engines, it has been difficult to provide an effective cylinder head gasket which is capable of withstanding the high combustion pressures and temperatures to which it is subjected and yet is of simple, durable and inexpensive construction. Numerous prior gaskets of this general type were susceptible to an inordinate amount of wear because of the difficulty in obtaining a rigid joint particularly in the vicinity of the ends of the cylinders formed in engine block. As a result, relative motion would occur between the cylinder head, gasket and engine block. Such motion produced rapid deterioration of the gasket resulting in premature failure thereof.
Composite gaskets have been developed in an effort to correct this problem; however, because of the complexity of construction they were difficult and costly to produce. Furthermore, an inordinate amount of torque applied to cap-screws and the like was required in order to attain the proper amount of compression of the prior composite gaskets. Lastly, the installation of the prior composite gaskets sometimes becomes an awkward and frustrating manipulation because of the numerous components comprising the gasket.